Page 103 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson

RADICAL LOVE

It is time to eliminate destructive mindsets, old patterns of thinking and

behaving, and allow God to form the image of Christ within us—that
the world cannot help but notice. He will do it. Will we let Him?

In verse 3 (NIV), the Song switches focus, and now the Shulamite
describes how she sees her Beloved. The verse says:

“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among

the young men.”

This is very interesting indeed, because apple trees are usually found in

orchards, where every tree is of one variety—and not in forests, where
there is a mix of various common species of trees and plants. Her

Beloved, however, is by no means of a common species. He stands out
from the crowd in His uniqueness.

Trees, on occasion, are sometimes used as metaphors for people in the

Bible, and apples can signify the fall of man, temptation, and sin. We
all know the story of Adam from the book of Genesis—the one who

succumbed to partaking of the fruit in the Garden of Eden, which
allowed sin and death to enter the world. This fruit was believed to be

an apple.

When she says that He is an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
she is referring to Him as being distinctive among men—the one who,

through His death and shed blood, has rolled back the reproach of the
first Adam (see Romans 5:17) and now fills us with the life-giving

sustenance of the Holy Spirit.

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